is now some kind of scary powerful alpha? Or the part where we now have to take some kind of day trip to yet another werewolf lie detector because Gwyar is an idiot who needs his skull kicked in to see if scrambling his brains can improve his IQ?”
Silence rang through the car for a moment before Alpha Due burst into peals of laughter, the sound gruff but rich as it rolled across the line. “Oh, I like you, Beta, I really do. You remind me of my Eirian.”
I blinked down at the phone where Ian had balanced it in the cup holder before shrugging. “Uh, thanks?” I murmured.
“You’re very welcome,” he replied. Ian placed his hands beside mine, adding his energy to my own.
“Take a break for a minute, kitten,” he insisted. “You’re not used to healing for this long, and you wore yourself out with Luna. He’s stable, we’re just working on the longer damage now.”
“Luna? The moon blessed pup we met at the masquerade?” Alpha Due’s voice went sharp. “You had to heal the pup? Did Gwyar hurt her?”
I snarled, but took Ian’s advice, sagging backwards into the seat as I took deep breaths, forcing oxygen into my tired muscles. “If he had, he’d be dead,” I told him bluntly, my wolf pushing herself into my words even as my eyes slid closed. I laid my head back against the seat, letting the movement of the car rock me for a moment while I breathed as evenly as I could.
Zev chuckled. “She’s a bit protective of that pup, Alpha,” he called over his shoulder.
“I helped Alpha Raff and Alpha Alarick,” Luna piped up, leaning forward so that her hair brushed against my shoulder. “The Beta and Zeta had to help me too, but it still hurt a lot.”
“You did well, pup,” Alarick praised her, his voice smooth and sure through the phone. “We couldn’t have done this without you. I’m proud to have a pup like you in my pack.” Luna yipped, the sound so young and wolf-like I couldn’t help but chuckle. Even with my eyes closed, I could almost see her wiggling in Shannon’s arms.
“I’m lost,” Alpha Due muttered dryly.
“Honestly, we’re still a little lost too, I think,” Chann admitted, his voice softer and echoing slightly. “And we actually saw it happen.”
“It may be a good thing that Alpha Eirian is vetting this part,” Alarick stated with a sigh. “I’m not sure anyone would believe it otherwise.”
“I could do it again,” Luna began, before all of us vehemently cut her off.
“No, Luna,” I told her softly. “Not unless you have to. It was an emergency this time, but you’re still a pup. I know you have your powers for a reason, but you need time to grow into them too.”
“Luna made the binding oath?” Alpha Due surmised, slowly piecing things together.
“Yes and no,” Alarick answered, as I fought to stay awake. “Raff still performed the oath. Luna somehow reached across the distance and bound us together. I could feel my father holding my hand, could feel the magic pulse between us the way a regular binding is performed. But we were on the highway, miles from the hotel, when it happened.”
“I’ve never heard of any power like that before,” Alpha Due murmured, so low I would have missed it without my werewolf hearing. “I know there are all kinds of mutations, but that?”
“Selene told me I could,” Luna informed him with a yawn. “She says I’ll learn how to do lots of things.”
I winced. “Yeah, about that…” I looked around the car. “Some of this is going to be coming out in a little bit here, but how much exactly? I mean, Selene’s already… I don’t know if possessed is the right word, but she’s done that to Luna a few times in front of people now.”
“Goddess,” Alpha Due swore.
“’Bout sums it up,” Zev quipped.
“Gwyar knows some of it already, I think, since he was close to Ashley,” I reminded my pack. “But I’m not sure how much he’s made public, or how much we want to make public.”
“Don’t announce it,” Alpha Due told us, his voice shaking. “Not yet at least. Eirian is verifying the truth of your statuses, you do not need to verify how you obtained said status. There is nothing in the law stating that as a requirement, he would have to call a conclave for that.”
“Luna.” I shifted, turning to face her. “I’m very proud of what you did. Your